Cold and windy Saturday; snow returns Christmas afternoon/evening

Updated at 12:30 p.m.

A strong low-pressure system in southeastern Canada continues to deliver gusty winds to Minnesota and Wisconsin Saturday.

Many roads in southwestern and south-central Minnesota were closed in the morning, but many roads in those areas have reopened:

You should check for updates if you have travel planned in those areas today.

Minnesota road conditions can be found here. Wisconsin road conditions are here.

Winter weather advisory

A winter weather advisory (shaded dark blue) continues until 3 p.m. this Saturday in portions of southwestern and south-central Minnesota:

The advisory is for drifting snow and dangerously cold wind chills. The winter weather advisory counties are also in a wind chill advisory today through 10 a.m. Sunday. The wind chill advisory also covers the light-blue shaded areas.

Here are details of the NWS wind chill advisory in that includes the Twin Cities:

MNZ060>063-070-242015- /O.CON.KMPX.WC.Y.0023.000000T0000Z-221225T1600Z/ Hennepin-Anoka-Ramsey-Washington-Dakota- Including the cities of Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater, and Hastings 611 AM CST Sat Dec 24 2022 ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Very cold wind chills. Wind chills as low as 30 below zero. * WHERE...Hennepin, Anoka, Ramsey, Washington and Dakota Counties. * WHEN...Until 10 AM CST Sunday. * IMPACTS...The cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves.

Northwestern Minnesota has wind chill advisories from today until noon Sunday for wind chills as low as 35 degrees below zero.

A blizzard warning continues in Lake and Cook Counties of northeastern Minnesota today, tonight and until 8 a.m. Sunday:

A winter weather advisory continues until midnight tonight in St. Louis and Carlton counties plus portions of northwestern Wisconsin…for blowing snow and gusts to 45 mph.

Here are details of the blizzard warning in Cook and Lake counties:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 605 AM CST Sat Dec 24 2022 MNZ012-020-021-250015- /O.CON.KDLH.BZ.W.0002.000000T0000Z-221225T1400Z/ /O.CON.KDLH.WC.Y.0030.000000T0000Z-221225T1400Z/ Northern Cook and Lake-Southern Lake-Southern Cook- Including the cities of Isabella, Two Harbors, Silver Bay, and Grand Marais 605 AM CST Sat Dec 24 2022 ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM CST SUNDAY... ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...For the Blizzard Warning, blizzard conditions. Additional snow accumulations of up to one inch. Winds gusting as high as 60 mph. For the Wind Chill Advisory, very cold wind chills. Wind chills as low as 35 below zero. * WHERE...Northern Cook and Lake, Southern Lake and Southern Cook Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Grand Portage Reservation. * WHEN...Until 8 AM CST Sunday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Strong winds could cause tree damage. The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Travel should be restricted to emergencies only. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves. The latest road conditions can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. Road conditions can also be found at 511mn.org for Minnesota or 511wi.gov for Wisconsin.

Here are wind forecasts for northeastern Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin:

You can find updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network, and on the MPR News live weather blog.

Many people are traveling this holiday weekend. You can get forecast details for any spot in the United States by clicking on that location on the map that’s displayed here.

Temperature trends

Our average Twin Cities high temp is 26 degrees on Dec. 24. We’ll have single-digit highs in the metro area today, with similar highs across much of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Many spots in western Minnesota will stay below zero.

Low temps early Christmas morning will be in the single-digits below zero in the metro area and southeastern Minnesota, with mainly teens below zero elsewhere in Minnesota:

Some spots in northwestern and west-central Minnesota will reach the 20s below zero.

Christmas Day highs will be mainly in the single-digits above zero, but parts of southwestern Minnesota will reach the teens:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around 10 above zero on Monday, followed by lower 20s Tuesday, mid 30s Wednesday, upper 30s Thursday and Friday.

Snow returns on Christmas

An Alberta clipper is expected to spread snow into portions of western Minnesota late Sunday morning and early Sunday afternoon. The snow coverage will expand as we go through the remainder of Christmas afternoon and into the evening.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the pressure pattern and the potential snowfall pattern Sunday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.:

Many locations — including the Twin Cities metro — will see snow totals of one to two inches by late Sunday. Check forecast updates, roads may become slick.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.